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THE  OLD  INDIAN  SETTLEMENTS  AND  ARCHITECTURAL  STRUCTURES 
IN  NORTHERN  CENTRAL  AMERICA. 


DR.  CARD  SAPPER. 


FROM  THE  SMITHSONIAN  REPORT  FOR  1895,  PAGES  537-555 
(WITH  PLATES  XXIX-XXXIV). 


WASHINGTON  : 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE, 

1896. 


1055 


THE  OLD  INDIAN  SETTLEMENTS  AND  ARCHITECTORAL  STROCTORES 
IN  NORTHERN  CENTRAL  AMERICA. 


DR.  CARD  SARPER. 


FROM  THE  SMITHSONIAN  REPORT  FOR  1895,  PAGES  537-555 
(WITH  PLATES  XXIX-XXXIV). 


WASHOGTOi^  : 

GOVERNMENT  PRINTING  OFFICE. 

1896. 


THE  OLD  INDIA^T  SETTLEMENTS  AND  AKCHITEOTDRAL 
STRUCTURES  IN  NORTHERN  CENTRAL  AMERICA.' 


By  Dr.  Caul  Sappek. 


The  ruins  of  northern  Central  America  have  for  some  time  past 
enlisted  the  attention  of  large  numbers  of  scholars,  their  scientific 
investigation  having,  in  fact,  begun  more  than  a century  ago.  (Antonio 
del  Rio  in  Palenque,  1787.)  Nevertheless,  we  possess  but  few  accurate 
accounts  of  old  Indian  towns  and  edifices,  and  a complete  series  of 
important  new  studies  can  not  probably  be  expected  for  several 
years  to  come.  Such  are  the  accounts  of  ruins  in  Yucatan  by  E. 
Thompson  and  T.  Maler,  the  thorough  exploration  of  the  ruins  of 
Palenque  by  A.  Maudslay,  and  of  the  ruins  of  Co])an  by  ar  American 
commission,  the  plans  of  Comalcalco  and  Menche  Tenamii  drawn  by 
engineers  of  the  Mexican  Boundary  Commission,  and  others,  of  the 
ruins  on  the  table-land  of  Guatemala  and  Chiapas,  although  deserving 
as  much  interest  as  the  majority  of  the  lowland  ruins;  only  very  few 
have  as  yet  been  examined  more  thoroughly.  I can  recall  here,  besides 
Stephens’s'^  descriptions,  only  the  examination  of  Iximche  by  Dr.  Gus- 
tav Briilil,^  and  thus  I am  compelled  in  my  statements  mainly  to  rely 
on  my  own  observations.  Now,  although  these  are  generally  nothing 
more  than  the  result  of  hasty  visits  and  of  rough  sketches  of  the  single 
l)laces  where  ruins  are  found,  I can  not  but  hopetliat  they  may  be  of 
some  interest,  since  I have  made  myself  personally  familiar  with  some 
examples  of  old  Indian  towns — settlements  and  edifices  in  almost  every 
one  of  the  separate  ethnographic  districts.'  I must  mention  here  that 
I have  not  examined  these  ruins  with  the  eye  of  the  artist  or  the  archi- 
tect, but  as  a geographer,  desiring  to  establish  the  characteristic  pecu- 
liarities of  the  shapes  adopted  in  building  towns  and  rearing  houses,  as 

'Translated  from  Globus,  Vol.  LXVIll,  Nos.  11  and  12,  1895. 

‘J.  Stephens,  Incidents  of  Travel  in  Central  America,  Chiajms,  and  Yucatan,  Lon- 
don, 1851,  page  313  ff,  331,  365,  383  ff. 

■'Globus,  LX VI,  page  213  If. 

■'ll!  the  territory  of  the  Mije  and  Xinca  tribes  of  Aztec  and  Zapotec  origin  I have 
observed  only  a few  unimportant  building  ruins,  and  shall  therefore  pay  little  atten- 
tion to  them  in  this  essay. 


537 


538 


INDIAN  SETTLEMENTS  IN  CENTEAL  AMERICA. 


they  differed  in  the  various  tribes,  hoping  that  I might  thus,  if  possi- 
ble, secure  some  points  of  contact  with  the  prehistoric  migrations  and 
the  ethnographic  connection  of  the  tribes.  I have  also  tried  to  show 
how  far  the  architecture  of  men  depends  on  the  x)hysical  and  orographic 
nature  of  the  laud  and  the  character  of  the  building  material  found  in 
the  vicinity  wherever  this  could  be  shown.  Under  the  influence  of  the 
above-mentioned  views,  I have  paid  but  little  attention  to  the  ruins 
already  investigated  by  more  competent  men,  and  in  examining  unknown 
or  only  imperfectly  known  ruins  of  settlements,  I have  confined  myself 
to  simple,  rough  measurements  by  the  aid  of  the  compass.  The  ground 
plans  and  sectional  plans  given  here  must,  therefore,  not  be  considered 
as  accurate,  but  are  merely  intended  to  give  a generally  correct  view 
of  the  disposition  and  the  structure  of  the  single  buildings — more  did 
not  seem  to  be  required  for  my  purpose.  As  I have  spoken  elsewhere 
of  the  old  Indian  settlements  of  Guatemala  and  Chiapas,  I need  not 
return  to  them  here.  As,  however,  many  ruins  have  not  yet  been  inves- 
tigated (like  those  of  Ohiapa,  Tona'la,  and  Agua  Escondida  in  Chiapas; 
of  Piedras  Uegras,  Yaxche,  and  Jolomax  in  Peten;  of  Benque  Yiejo  in 
British  Honduras;  of  S.  Jorge,  Aguacatan,  Sacapulas,  Mixco,  Chajul, 
Canilla,  Mita,  etc.,  in  Guatemala),  and  as,  moreover,  many  other  ruins 
have  })robably  never  yet  been  discovered,  my  material  must  needs  be 
very  inq)erfect,  and  the  results  I have  obtained  will  have  to  be  com- 
pleted and  reexamined,  I shall  tlierefore  limit  myself  here  to  what  is 
most  important. 

1.  THE  DISPOSITION  OE  OLD  INDIAN  BUILDINGS  WITHIN  THE 
SETTLEMENTS. 

All  the  Indians  of  northern  Central  America  have  in  earlier  days 
lived,  as  they  still  do  in  our  day,  in  wooden  huts  covered  with  grass 
or  palm  leaves,  and  more  durable  edifices  were  raised  only  for  purposes 
of  worslii})  or  of  warfare,  perhaps  also  to  serve  as  homes  for  the  highest 
spiritual  and  other  dignitaries,  in  which  cases  earth  and  stone,  and  in 
times  of  higher  refinement,  even  mortar,  were  employed.  Of  such 
only  ruins  are  in  existence,  and  they  will  therefore  form  the  principal 
subject  of  this  work. 

The  fact  that  in  our  day  the  majority  of  Indians  live  in  remote 
regions,  far  from  Spanish  influences  and  scattered  in  separate  homes, 
or  in  small  clusters  of  houses,  would  seem  to  justify  the  presumption 
that  a similar  system  may  have  prevailed  in  inv-Columbian  times. 
Nevertheless,  the  Indians  had  besides,  in  those  days,  larger  centers  of 
j)opulatiou,  such  as  surrounded  their  places  of  worship,  within  carefully 
fortified  localities,  or  their  royal  residences,  the  salines,  gold  washings, 
and  the  like.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  these  centers 
of  population  held  only  at  fixed  times  larger  numbers,  as  at  times  of 
religious  festivals  and  devotional  meetings;  the  fortresses  only  in  times 
of  war,  the  salines  in  the  dry  seasons,  when  alone  salt  could  be  made, 


S'nithsonian  Report,  1895, 


Plate  XXIX, 


Distribution  of  Styles  of  Building  in  Middle  America. 

1.  Maya  style;  la.  North  Yucatec  type;  lb.  South  Yucatec  type;  Ic.  Peten  type;  2.  Choi  style; 
3.  Chorti  style;  4.  Vera  Paz  style;  5.  Quiche  style;  6.  Maine  style;  7.  Tzendal  style';  8. 
Chiapauec  style;  9.  Motoziutla  style. 


/ 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/oldindiansettlem00sapp_0 


INDIAN  SETTLEMENTS  IN  CENTRAL  AMERICA. 


539 


etc.  During  the  larger  part  of  tlie  year  it  is  probable  the  majority  of 
Indians,  and  even  tliose  who  owned  a house  of  their  own  in  the  towns, 
lived  in  the  country  in  simple  huts,  surrounded  by  their  cornfields,  as 
the  case  at  this  day  in  parts  of  Alta  V erapaz.  It  was  only  the  Spaniards 
who  led  the  Indians  to  congregate  in  real  towns  and  villages  5 and  as  an 
evidence  of  the  strangeness  which  this  mode  of  life  had  for  them,  it 
may  be  mentioned  that  many  tribes  of  the  Maya  family  never  had  a 
word  in  their  language  for  this  idea,  and  hence  adopted  for  it  the  Mexi- 
can designation  ‘Denamit’’.  Only  in  Yucatan  a stronger  tendency  to 
concentrate  seems  to  have  prevailed  from  of  old,  as  the  people  there 
were  forced  to  do  so  by  the  small  number  of  permanent  ponds  (aguadas), 
of  caves  through  which  rivers  were  passing  (cenotes),  and  of  real 
springs. 

The  true  nature  of  old  Indian  population  centers  can  only  be  guessed 
at,  since  not  a trace  has  survived  of  what  constituted  the  principal 
part  of  a town,  or  that  which  was  inhabited  by  the  poorer  classes  who 
dwelt  in  mere  huts.  It  is  true  the  Spanish  conquerors  tell  us  much  of 
streets  and  squares,  but  the  actually  existing  ruins  only  show  that 
squares,  often  very  extensive,  did  exist;  that  in  many  towns  they  were 
exceedingly  numerous  and  beautiful,  but  streets,  in  the  modern  sense 
of  the  word,  I have  never  been  able  to  find.  Only  at  Iximclie  and  in  a 
few  religious  structures  (Sajacabaja,  Pasajon,  S.  Isidore),  have  I found 
indications  of  such  a design.  Generally  it  is  noticed  that  the  ruins  of 
the  principal  buildings  (tumuli  and  stone  structures)  show  no  definite 
arrangement.  A similar  state  of  things  exists  even  now  in  many 
Indian  villages  which  have  never  been  subjected  to  tlie  Spanish  rule 
of  straight  streets,  intersecting  each  other  rectangularly.  Tliey  show 
nothing  but  a confused  conglomeration  of  separate  houses,  with 
crooked  and  much  intersected  ways  between  them,  but  with  no  streets 
in  our  sense  of  the  word.  As  the  church,  with  its  open  square  around 
it,  now  forms  the  center  of  these  villages,  it  may  be  that  the  groups  of 
public  buildings  may  formerly  have  also  formed,  as  it  were,  the  kernel 
of  similarly  shaped  settlements. 

The  old  Indian  towns  of  Guatemala  and  Chiapas  have  certaiidy,  in 
ordinary  times,  harbored  no  very  considerable  population,  for  the  si)ace 
lying  within  the  fortification  line  is  generally  very  confined,  and  it  is 
highly  improbable  that  outside  of  this  line  other  ]>arts  of  the  town 
should  have  been  added,  since  such  a proceeding  would  in  war  times 
have  been  as  diastrons  for  those  who  lived  outside  as  for  the  fortress 
itself. 

It  may  be  argued,  on  the  other  hand,  that  the  older  Spanish  writers 
have  left  us  very  minute  descriptions  of  many  old  Indian  towns,  but  I 
must  confess  that  I am  very  skeptical  as  to  their  accuracy  in  such  mat- 
ters. They  seem  to  have  indulged  with  great  pleasure  in  large  numbers, 
feeling  sure  of  not  being  contradicted.  Thus,  Puentes  tells  us  that  the 
chief  commanders  of  the  Quiches,  Tecum  Uman,  in  the  year  1524,  had 


540 


INDIAN  SETTLEMENTS  IN  CENTRAL  AMERICA. 


drawn  72^000  warriors  from  the  capital,  Gumarcah  (Utatlan),  alone,  and 
the  royal  palace  of  Utatlan  was  said  to  have  been  728  steps  long  and  376 
steps  wide.  If  we  now  recall  these  astonishing  numbers  in  the  light  of 
the  ruins  of  Utatlan,  we  can  hardly  keep  from  smiling,  for  the  habitable 
surface  of  the  real  table-land  of  Utatlan  is  not  quite  100  meters  long, 
and  would,  therefore,  at  best  not  be  able  to  contain  an  edifice  of  dimen- 
sions like  the  above  mentioned.  In  order  to  be  quite  certain  about  this 
question,  I measured  the  plateau  by  walking  along  the  edges,  when  I 
visited  the  ruins  in  August,  1894,  with  my  brother  Eichard,  but  I had 
not  the  time  necessary  to  measure  the  buildings  also.  We  agreed, 
however  upon  the  fact  that  the  principal  court  of  the  so-called  palacio 
is  only  100  yards  long  and  60  yards  wide,  and  that  the  disposition  of 
the  surrounding  buildings  is  almost  identical  with  that  of  the  so-called 
Eesguardo.  (I  have  inserted  in  the  plan  of  the  site  (fig,  10)  the  place 
of  the  most  important  buildings  from  memory,  because  I subsequently 
saw  that  the  plan  in  Stephens’s  Incidents  in  Travel,  page  235,  gives  an 
erroneous  impression.)  These  ruins  have,  moreover,  since  Stephens 
and  Gather  wood  visited  them,  suffered  much  from  dilapidation,  mainly 
by  the  fault  of  diggers  for  treasures,  who  foolishly  turned  the  whole 
plateau  upside  down. 

It  might,  to  be  sure,  be  assumed  that  the  table-land  of  Utatlan  con- 
tained only  the  palace  of  the  ruler  with  the  accessory  buildings  and  the 
temples,  while  the  rest  of  the  city  might  have  covered  the  surrounding 
plain.  In  fact,  there  are  at  some  distance  from  Utatlan  a few  tumuli 
rising  in  the  ])lain  which  might  be  considered  detached  forts,  built  to 
protect  the  parts  of  the  town  in  which  the  poorer  people  lived.  But  the 
Spanish  writers  say  nothing  of  such  an  outer  town,  and  the  surface  of 
Utatlan  is  no  smaller  than  that  of  many  other  Indian  fortified  places 
like  Saculeu,  Comitancillo,  Ixiiuche,  and  others. 

The  nature  of  old  Indian  centers  of  population  differed,  of  course, 
according  as  the  settlement  was  made  principally  for  defense  or  for  the 
performance  of  religious  worship,  or  merely  for  the  maintenance  of  a 
king  or  a prince.  In  the  table-lands  of  Guatemala  and  Chiapas,  where 
a number  of  warlike  peoples  and  independent  hostile  tribes  of  one  and 
the  same  nation  dwelt  in  close  proximity  to  each  other,  the  fortified 
('haracter  of  their  buildings  naturally  prevails,  and  they  usually  con- 
tained also  the  palaces  of  their  rulers,  and  the  temples  of  the  deities.^ 
nature  here  oftered  in  abrupt  eminences,  which  were  entirely  or  par- 
tially severed  from  the  adjoining  table-land  by  deep  ravines,  or  on 
mountains  with  a level  plain  on  their  summit,  ])laces  that  could  easily 
be  defended  and  were  really  used  for  that  purpose  by  the  Indians.  In 
building  towns  here,  where  nature  had  limited  the  space,  the  builders 

'At  times  the  princes  also  lived  in  open  towns  which  they  abandoned  at  the  ont- 
l)reak  of  war,  withdrawing  into  near  fortified  places,  as  in  the  year  1525  Caibil- 
Ibilam,  King  of  the  Mames,  retired  at  the  approach  of  the  Spaniards  nnder  Gonzalo 
de  Alvarado  from  his  capital,  Chmabhnl  (Hnehnetenango),  to  the  fortress  Saculeu. 


INDIAN  SETTLEMENTS  IN  CENTRAL  AMERICA, 


541 


saw  tliemselves  compelled  to  crowd  tlie  structures  as  much  as  could  be 
doue,  and  this  closely  compressed  disposition  is  hence  characteristic  of 
the  ground  plans  of  towns  on  the  table-laud  of  Chiapas  and  Guatemala. 

As  an  example,  I may  here  mention  the  well-known  ruins  of  Tonina 
(that  is,  stone  house),  of  which,  however,  I have  only  drawn  the  upper 
part  (tig.  8a).  The  mass  of  the  ruins  lies  upon  a narrow  ridge  of  hills, 
which  in  the  direction  of  Toniini  Greek,  terminates  the  principal  build- 
ings (shown  in  tig.  8a)  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  same.  Already, 
below  in  the  plain,  considerable  artiticial  hills  are  found.  Then  we 
ascend  four  distinct  terraces,  also  quite  high  and  artificially  produced, 
the  second  of  which  is  tolerably  wide  and  bears  some  cross  tumuli;  and 
thus  we  reach  at  last  the  fifth,  with  the  i^alacio  (stone  house  E),  which 
since  Stephens’s  visit  has  evidently  suffered  much.  Higher  up  still 
stand  the  two  great  i^yramids.  All  the  buildings  are  closely  crowded 
to  save  space  and  evidently  mainly  intended  for  defense. 

In  A'ucatan,  however,  where  the  supi^ly  of  water  was  always  a seri- 
ous question,  and  where  nature,  moreover,  had  not  provided  such  easily 
defensive  localities,  the  principal  buildings  are  much  more  freely  scat- 
tered about,  and  some  of  them  might  have  served  for  defense.  But  the 
whole  arrangement  is  such  and  the  decoration  of  the  outer  walls  so  pro- 
fuse, that  these  towns  must  rather  be  looked  upon  as  idaces  of  residence 
for  their  princes  and  high  jmests  than  as  fortified  iilaces.  It  is  true 
that  I know  only  a very  few  such  settlements  in  ATicatan,  but  if  I may 
judge  from  Charnay’s  statements  and  from  the  still  unpublished  plans, 
dra\Yings,  and  photographs  of  Mr.  Tompson,  in  Merida,  a like  scattered 
disposition  seems  to  prevail  elsewhere  as  well  as  inTTxnial  or  Tzibinocac. 

The  southernmost  Maya  buildings,  that  is  to  say,  the  town  ruins  in 
Peten,  like  S.  Clemente,  and  especially  grandiose  Ticul,  show,  on  the 
other  hand,  clearly  that  they  were  intended  for  fortifications.  The 
crowded  position,  the  variety  of  isolated  buildings,  and  the  arrange- 
ment of  many  around  a court,  each  one  of  which  formed  a new  center 
for  defense,  prove  this  beyond  all  doubt.  In  spite  of  Mr.  Maudslay’s 
careful  researches,  we  have  as  yet  no  really  complete  account  of  Ticul, 
and  I was  unfortunately  unable  to  trace  the  ground  plan  of  these  grand 
old  town  ruins,  which  are  slumbering  here  in  the  shade  of  primitive 
forests.  I can  only  say  that  here  may  be  seen  a whole  series  of  easily 
defensible  courtyards,  which  in  }>art  lie  in  the  form  of  terraces  one 
above  the  other,  while  in  the  vicinity  of  the  principal  court,  surrounded 
by  magnificent  buildings  of  stone,  a number  of  steep,  defiant  pyramids 
arise,  each  bearing  a grand  stone  building  on  the  summit. 

Much  simpler  and  less  important,  and  on  that  account  also  much 
more  easily  understood,  are  the  ruins  of  S.  Clemente  (fig.  9),  which 
had  long  remained  unknown,  concealed  as  they  were  in  the  forest, 
although  they  were  within  200  yards  of  the  riding  path  from  Peten  to 
Belize.  The  ruins  cover  a somewdiat  long  hill,  over  which  the  buildings 
were  so  scattered  that  they  formed  a number  of  courtyards  or  squares. 


542 


INDIAN  SETTLEMENTS  IN  CENTRAL  AMERICA. 


almost  everyone  of  which  might  have  been  most  easily  defended  by 
itself.  The  courts  B and  O are  on  the  same  level,  while  the  square  ! 
marked  A is  one  story  higher,  and  the  square  D,  separated  from  A by  | 
a narrow  ravine,  lies  perhaps  4 meters  higher.*  The  stone  houses  I and  ; 
II  show  on  the  outside  only  a smooth  wall,  at  the  foot  of  which  begins  1 
a sheer  i^recipice.  The  rooms  in  I and  II  are  accessible  from  it,  but  | 


the  stone  house  III  has  its  doors  of  entrance  oa  the  south  side,  now  | j 
sadly  in  ruins,  from  whence  they  can  easily  be  reached  across  a steep  I 
parapet.  The  upper  plateau  of  III  continues  eastward  at  the  same 
height,  so  that  the  continuation  (Ilia)  viewed  from  B looks  two-storied, 
until,  at  the  end  of  the  edifice,  it  becomes  once  more  one- storied, 
narrow  passage  leads  from  the  southwestern  corner  of  B through  Ilia 
to  O.  Tlu‘  western  termination  of  B is  formed  by  a wall,  which  rises 
as  high  as  the  square  A;  the  eastern  and  northern  ends  consist  simply 
of  stone  walls,  and  in  the  same  way  the  eastern  and  Avestern  termina- 
tions of  O and  E.  The  walls  4 and  5 are  built  of  cut  stone  and  3 to  4 
meters  high.  On  top  of  the  rampart  9 a small  much-decayed  stone 
house  is  standing.  Between  0 and  I)  two  tall,  strongly-built  stone 
houses  are  seen,  each  of Wliich  contains  but  a single  room,  open  to  the 
north,  upon  high  artificially  modified  eminences.  What  is  very  remark- 
able is  that  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  looking  toward  the  northwest,  a 
round  hole  has  been  found,  barely  large  enough  to  let  a man  pass 
through.  This  leads  to  a subterranean  story  below,  which  I,  however, 
did  not  dare  to  examine,  as  I had  neither  a rope  nor  sufficient  light. 

In  the  former  Choi  territory  also  similar  connections  of  houses  seer 
to  exist,  built  in  the  shape  of  terraces  side  by  side  (e.  g..  Las  Quebra 
das).  Copan,  also,  otherwise  in  its  disposition  perhaps  the  most 
remarkable  creation  of  Indian  architecture,  shows  certain  features  of 
the  same  system. 

The  ruins  in  southern  Yucatan  are  inferior  in  extent  to  those  of  the 
Maya  territory.  They  often  display  the  clearly  pronounced  character 
of  fortifications,  walled-in  courtyards  on  high  hills  (as  in  Ixtinta,  fig.  2) 
or  extemsive  stone  Avails,  or  buildings  on  high  passes,  as  upon  the 
height  of  Caca  de  Xkanja,  whicli  may  have  served  for  the  defenses,  but 
may  also  have  been  used  by  travelers  for  the  offering  of  prayers  and  of 
sacrifices  (fig.  3).  At  all  eA'ents,  the  type  of  fortified  places  is  less  pro- 
nounced here  than  in  Peten.  The  buildings  are  less  croAvded,  and  the 
houses,  built  of  stone,  sliow  much  more  careful,  almost  artistic,  treat- 
ment of  the  outer  Avails.  On  the  other  hand,  the  structures  are  still 
not  quite  as  much  scattered  as  in  the  towns  of  northern  Yucatan,  and 
they  lack  the  ornamental  sculptures  of  the  latter,  so  that  the  ruins  of 
southern  Yucatan  occu])y  an  intermediate  position  between  the  edifices 
of  northern  Yucatan  and  those  of  Peten. 

In  like  manner  Ave  find  in  Menche  Tenamit  certain  features  which 
connect  Tical  Avith  Palenqiie,  and  Tonina  recalls  in  its  buildings  the 
towns  of  the  loAvlands,  but  folio avs  in  the  arrangement  entirely  the  habits 


Smithsonian, Report,  1895. 


Plate  XXX. 


!* 


r- 


INDIAN  SETTLEMENTS  IN  CENTRAL  AMERICA. 


543 


of  the  tribes  on  the  highlands.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  cul- 
ture of  a nation  in  northern  Central  America  has  always  had  its 
induence  on  the  neighboring  tribes^  and  thus  we  notice  frequently, 
especially  in  frontier  districts,  features  which  remind  us  of  the  puculi- 
arities  of  the  architecture  of  adjoining  districts.  The  isolated  western 
court  of  Ghama  presents  very  clearly  the  type  of  Yerapaz,  while  the 
eastern  buildings  remind  us  more  of  the  Choi  buildings,  and  thus  also 
the  ruins  of  Pueblo  Yiejo,  whilst  the  nearly  adjoining  ruins  of  Chacujal, 
which  probably  once  formed  part  of  the  whole,  are  entirely  original. 

In  Yerapaz^we  know  only  of  small  ruins  of  edifices,  which  in  their 
simplicity  contrast  strikingly  with  the  more  complicated  disposition  of 
buildings  in  the  settlements  of  both  the  lowland  and  the  highland  dis- 
tricts, although  they  share  with  them  the  fundamental  type  of  a court- 
yard walled  in  all  around  or  only  in  part,  within  which  ordinarih"  small 
terraced  pyramids  have  been  standing.  We  also  know  of  fortifications 
attempted  in  Yerapaz,  such  as  walls  closing  a narrow  pass  (at  Las 
Pacayas),  or  mountain  summits  fortified  or  rendered  inaccessible  by 
piled-up  masses  of  stone,  e.  g.  Yaltenamit.  As  I have  not  examined 
the  few  remains  of  settlements  which  I know  near  Elbarrizal  and  Gua- 
temala, I am  not  able  to  state  wliether  the  ruins  within  the  Pokomam 
territory  bear  the  Yerapaz  imprint  or  the  character  of  the  highlands. 

Old  Indian  establishments  for  purposes  of  worship  have  been  com- 
paratively rare(e.  g.,  Kalamte)  and  they  also  (as,  for  instance,  Sajacabaja, 
Copan)  were  at  the  same  time  arranged  for  defenses,  as  of  course  the 
temple  buildings  with  their  walled-in  courtyards  and  their  terraced 
pyramids  furnished  gi'oups  of  buildings  that  could  easily  be  defended. 
Palenque  I consider,  with  Charnay,  a city  for  priestcraft  and  higher 
culture,  also  Quirigua  and  the  ruins  on  the  Pro  de  la  Pasion,  where  F. 
Artes  in  1892,  commissioned  by  the  G uatemalan  Government,  obtained 
photographs  of  the  monoliths  and  exhibited  them  at  the  Chicago 
Exposition. 

A survey  of  the  ruins  within  the  Maya  territory,  as  far  as  they  are 
known  to  us,  convince  us  that  everywhere  the  fundamental  type  of 
inclosed  courtyards  reappears.  In  the  highlands  of  Chiapas  and 
Guatemala  the  disposition  of  the  buildings  is  compact,  since  the  build- 
ings bore  mainly  the  character  of  fortifications,  and  on  that  account 
localities  were  chosen  which  were  naturally  already  confined,  such  as 
ravines,  sudden  precipices,  etc.  In  Peten  also  the  buildings  are  much 
crowded,  evidently  on  account  of  warlike  events  which  then  occurred, 
although  on  the  whole  the  settlements  in  the  lowlands  are  more  open 
and  without  any  signs  of  defensive  works  in  the  foreground. 

Ill  all  Maya  ruins  the  buildings  are,  if  not  uniformly,  at  least  very 
generally,  built  so  as  to  face  a certain  direction j among  the  lowland 
tribes,  toward  the  cardinal  points.  In  the  Yerapaz  tribes  and  among 
the  Quiches,  Tzutuhiles,  lTsi)antecos,  Aguacatecos,  and  other  high- 
land tribes  (the  Tzendal  group,  Alame  group,  and  Cakchiquel),  the 


544 


INDIAN  SETTLEMENTS  IN  CENTRAL  AMERICA. 


buildings  face  more  generally  in  intermediate  directions,  but  always  in 
such  a manner  that  witliin  each  town  one  certain  direction  prevailed. 

In  eastern  Chiapas  I have  seen  at  Mazapa  and  Motozintla  certain 
ruins  which  differ  from  the  Maya  type,  although  the  people  there  now 
speak  Maya  languages.  Besides  other  peculiarities,  the  abseu(‘e  of 
clearly  defined  courts  must  be  noticed  and  the  long  drawn  out  charac- 
ter of  the  general  plan  (see  fig.  11).  Quite  near  by,  at  Chimalapal,  I 
saw  from  a distance  old  Indian  settlements,  with  clearly  defined  courts 
of  the  Maya  type,  facing  the  cardinal  points  (fig.  13). 

In  the  Chiapas  territory  no  such  clearly  defined  courts  as  the  Mayas 
have  can  be  found.  The  courts,  if  at  all  existing,  are  not  completely 
walled  in,  the  buildings  do  not  seem  to  face  any  one  direction  decidedly, 
but  to  be  scattered  about  without  any  rule.  The  choice  of  locality, 
however,  and  walls  evidently  built  for  defensive  purposes,  show  clearly 
that  the  builders  intended  to  give  to  the  whole  the  character  of 
fortifications. 

In  western  and  southern  Chiapas,  in  Soconusco  and  southern  Guate- 
mala, I found  but  few  old  Indian  settlements,  and  those  I did  see  were 
so  completely  ruined  that  I was  not  able  to  discern  any  striking 
peculiarities. 

In  the  territory  of  the  northern  Pipiles,  in  the  upper  Motagua  Yal- 
ley,  and  in  lower  Yerapaz,  I have  frequently  seen  traces  of  old  Indian 
settlements,  but  they  were  almost  completely  efiaced  and  beyond  rec- 
ognition. The  ruins  near  S.  Agustin  Acasaguastlan  are  long  stretched 
out,  resting  in  one  direction  on  a mountain  slope,  somewhat  like  the 
ruins  of  Mazapa.  They  show  terraces  and  half  courts  and  always  face 
the  cardinal  points. 

2.  SINGLE  BUILDINGS  AND  GROUPS  OF  BUILDINGS. 

I have  above  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  Indians  of  northern 
Central  America  lived  in  the  days  before  Columbus  in  straw  huts,  as 
they  do  now,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  assume  that  they  have  changed 
since  in  the  construction  of  their  houses.  There  existed,  therefore,  in 
those  days  the  same  difference  in  building  among  the  various  tribes 
and  groups  of  tribes  as  I have  been  able  to  see  in  the  present  time  and 
to  describe  elsewhere.^ 

For  the  larger  buildings,  however,  and  especially  for  the  substruc- 
ture, other  materials  were  employed  which  promised  greater  durability. 
Wliere  civilization  was  still  lagging  behind,  walls  of  earth  and  of  stone 
had  to  sufllcn,  or  terraced  pyramids  were  erected  of  the  same  material, 
and  probably  bore  on  the  summit  wooden  structures  adapted  to  the 
desired  jmrpose. 

The  most  primitive  shape  of  these  walls  were  probably  simple  walls 

^Contributions  to  the  Ethnograpliy  of  the  Republic  of  Guatemala  (Petermann’s 
Mitteil.,  1893,  ]>.  12  ff)  and  contributions  to  the  Ethnography  of  Southeast  Mexico 
and  British  Honduras  (same  journal,  1895,  ii.  177 ). 


Smithsonian  Report,  1895. 


Plate  XXXI. 


Principal  Parts  of  the  Ruins  of  Tonina,  near  Ocosingo  (Chiapas). 


['r 

; . 'f  i 'i/y 


W-. 


I 


•i 


,r  ’ ■;■  .< 


>• 


I 


■> 


1 


* 


INDIAN  SETTLEMENTS  IN  CENTRAL  AMERICA. 


545 


of  earth  which^  as  refinement  increased,  were  incased  in  a covering  of 
stone.  Frequently,  however,  the  whole  wall  was  built  of  stone,  and 
even  the  terraced  pyramids  consisted  only  of  a kernel  of  earth,  some- 
times containing  stone  chambers  within,  while  a covering  of  stone  on 
the  outside  ga  ve  to  the  building  a suitable  outward  form  and  durability. 
This  is  the  point  of  development  where  the  majority  of  the  buildings 
of  Chiapas,  southern  Guatemala,  and  Verapaz  remained  stationary, 
and  even  among  the  Maya  tribes,  who  are  so  much  further  advanced, 
similar  structures  are  still  met  with.  At  this  time  the  stones  that  form 
the  outer  case  were  either  not  cut  at  all  or  only  roi  giJy;  really  well- 
cut  stone  is  very  rarely  met  with  in  such  structures.  This  depended, 
naturally,  very  largely  on  tlie  nature  of  the  stone  found  in  these  dis- 
tricts. In  Alta  Yerapaz  and  parts  of  central  Chiapas  the  material  is 
an  easily  split  dolomite  or  limestone:  in  the  Chiapas  and  JVIdtozintla 
districts  granite  prevails;  in  the  districts  of  the  Tzotzil  and  the 
southern  Pipiles  other  eruptive  stones  of  more  recent  origin,  which 
the  Indians  with  their  extremely  imperfect  tools  must  have  found  A^ery 
hard  to  cut.  The  same  difficulty  no  doubt  also  accounts  for  the  fact 
that  we  find  in  the  highlands  of  Guatemala  and  Chiapas  compara- 
tively few  sculptures  in  stone,  and  that  wherever  any  are  found  the 
nature  of  the  material  on  hand  has  been  specially  favorable.  Andesite, 
of  recent  origin  or  disunited,  has  frequently  been  used  for  the  purpose, 
more  rarely  sandstone  or  even  limestone;  for  small  articles  sometimes 
argillaceous  schist,  but  ]iever  dolomite.  In  proportion  as  the  available 
stone  material  was  less  fit  for  building  and  sculpture  the  loA^e  of 
ceramics  increased,  and,  to  mention  but  one  example,  the  Indians 
of  Alta  Yerapaz  remained  tar  behind  their  neighbors  in  all  that  con- 
cerned architecture;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  they  furnished  pottery  of 
such  admirable  good  taste  and  true  artistic  skill  that  they  do  not  seem 
to  have  been  surpassed  by  any  of  the  Maya  tribes.  This  would  lead 
to  the  conclusion  that  architecture  is  not  a standard  by  which  we  can 
measure  the  culture  possessed  by  a people,  because  the  absence  of 
suitable  material  may  easily  interfere  with  their  development  and  force 
their  artistic  predilections  into  other  channels.  Nor  must  it  be  for- 
gotten that  architecture  is  fostered  and  improved  in  proportion  as  it  is 
favored  by  a nation  politically  and  financially  powerful.  This  seems 
to  have  been  much  less  the  case  in  Alta  Yerapaz  than  in  Yucatan  or  in 
the  highlands  of  Guatemala. 

Edifices  consisting  merely  of  earth  and  of  stone,  simply  piled  one 
ux)on  the  other,  are  generally  found  in  a lamentable  condition,  and  it 
is  but  rarely  possible  to  trace  the  outlines  of  such  buildings  accurately. 
The  same  difficulty  applies  to  the  nature  of  the  steps  which  are  almost 
always  found  on  pyramids,  and  frequently  on  ramparts.  As  far  as  my 
researches  go,  the  ground  plan  is  generally  square,  rarely  (by  cutting  off 
the  corners)  of  five  or  more  sides,  but  in  spite  of  these  variations,  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  buildings,  sc^uare  once  more.  Kound  foundations 
SM  95 35 


546 


INDIAN  SETTLEMENTS  IN  CENTRAL  AMERICA. 


I have  never  been  able  to  trace  with  any  certainty;  a careful  inves- 
tigation led  me  in  almost  every  case,  even  in  apparently  round  or 
rounded-oft  structures,  to  trace  the  originally  rectangular  lines.  The 
steps  in  the  Maya  buildings  seem  always  to  have  been  produced  by  an 
alteration  of  horizontal  with  perpendicular  or  nearly  perpendicular 
planes;  they  are  at  the  same  time  usually  of  the  same  height  and 
de])th.  A very  striking  difference  appears,  however,  in  the  structures 
of  the  Chiapas  and  Mbtozintla  tribes,  as  they  ascend  sideways  and 
leave  only  a small  space  horizontally  open  (ffg.  11a).  It  is  possible  that 
this  peculiarity  betrays  a certain  dependence  on  the  building  material, 
as  the  rolling,  rounded-off‘  bowlders  of  granite  which  abound  in  that 
region  can  not  very  easily  be  piled  up  perpendicularly,  and  hence  the 
building  would  acquire  greater  durability  by  steps  ascending  in  a side 
wise  direction.  However  tliis  may  be,  the  fact  is  that  the  method  of 
building  here  differs  essentially,  and  I feel  justified  in  concluding  from 
it  that  the  districts  of  M()tozintla  and  Mazax>a,  where  now  Maya  idioms 
are  in  use,  were  formerly  inhabited  by  a race  of  foreign  origin.  What 
race  of  men  this  may  have  been  I can  not  even  guess;  I only  believe 
that  they  could  not  even  have  been  (Miiai)as,  partly  because  the  build- 
ings in  the  Motozintla  district  seem  to  be  more  carefully  arranged  than 
among  the  Chiapas  and  x^^ndly  because  in  front  of  several  tumuli  in 
Masapa  and  Mbtozintla  (fig.  2,  A,  B,  and  C)  carefully  wrought  pave- 
ments of  flat  granite  tiles  may  be  seen,  such  as  I have  until  now  never 
met  with  in  the  Chiapas  district. 

When  we  meet  with  i)erpendicular  or  nearly  xmrpendicular  walls  of 
cut  stone  we  may  assume  that  this  indicates  a higher  style  of  architec- 
ture, even  though  these  walls  may  be  erected  without  the  aid  of  mor- 
tar. Such  buildings  are  met  with  here  and  there,  as  in  S.  Agustin 
Acasaguastlan,  frequently  also  in  towns,  where  already  stone  houses 
are  found  standing,  e.  g.,  the  stone  tumuli  4 and  5 in  the  court  C of  the 
ruins  of  S.  Clemente  (fig.  9),  The  most  remarkable  of  such  edifices 
are  those  of  Chacujal  (Alta  Verapaz),  where  inlmitive  argillaceous 
slate,  carefully  carved  on  the  outside,  has  been  employed  without  any 
kind  of  cement  for  the  puiqjose  of  raising  |3erpendicular  or  very  steej) 
walls,  and  which  bear  on  the  upper  platform  a kind  of  parapet.  The 
inner  kernel  of  these  walls  consists  of  rounded-oft  river  shingles.  1 
have  never  found  this  same  method  of  building  anywhere  else. 

Still  greater  xirogress  in  arcdiitecture  is  seen  in  those  structures  on 
the  liigh  table-land  of  Guatemala,  in  which  the  stones  forming  the  walls 
are  held  together  by  an  abundant  use  of  mortar.  Mortar  is,  by  the 
way,  also  found  elsewhere  (e.  g.,  in  Alta  Verapaz),  but  not  to  such  an 
extent  that  its  use  should  have  essentially  influenced  architecture. 
Even  in  Iximchc,  mortar  seems  to  have  been  but  of  secondary  impor- 
tance. In  Kalamte  and  Comitancillo,  in  IJtatlan  alid  Saculeu,  how- 
ever, many  edifices  consist  sim|>ly  of  walls,  and  in  order  to  secure  steps 
these  walls  were  erected  peiq)endicularly ; but  where  higher  walls  had 


Smithsonian  Report,  1895. 


Plate  XXXII 


Fig.  9. -Ruins  of  San  Clemente  (Peten),  1:1600, 


INDIAN  SETTLEMENTS  IN  CENTRAL  AMERICA. 


547 


to  be  raised  without  steps  they  were  erected  with  a steep  inclination, 
and  separate  staircases  led  up  to  the  platforms.  And  it  was  the  same 
with  terraced  pyramids  that  had  especially  high  steps.  A casing  of 
smooth  mortar  formed  the  outer  covering  of  these  walls.  Similar  ax^pli- 
cations  of  liquid  mortar  formed  the  floor  of  the  more  important  places 
and  of  the  platforms  of  tumuli.  In  TJtatlan,  even  now  and  in  spite  of 
the  general  destruction  of  the  buildings,  traces  may  be  seen  of  paint- 
ings on  the  walls,  and  on  some  of  the  platforms  the  evidently  griev- 
ously injured  casing  of  mortar  has  been  covered  by  a second  and  even 
a third  application. 

In  tlie  highlands  of  Chiapas,  these  last-mentioned  architectural  forms 
seem  to  be  wanting,  and  the  tribes  of  the  Mam  and  the  Quiche  family 
appear  therefore  to  be  in  some  way  technically  opposed  to  the  Tzendal 
group.  Yet  the  highland  tribes  of  Guatemala  and  Chiapas  show  not 
only  in  the  manner  of  laying  out  their  towns,  but  also  in  the  erection 
of  any  definite  temples,  a surprising  uniformity.  We  speak  of  a 
temple  building  consisting  of  two  main  structures  which  are  alike,  lie 
parallel  to  each  other,  and  display  on  the  side  that  faces  the  other  a 
small,  low  terrace  resembling  a trottoir.  Between  these  two  edifices 
the  temple  court  appears,  deeply  sunk,  but  spreading  out  wider  beyond 
the  two  main  buildings  and  almost  altogether  walled  in,  so  that  the 
shax>e  of  the  court  assumes  a resemblance  to  a large  letter  H or  I. 
From  El  Sacramento  in  Chiapas  to  Sajacabaja  and  Ivalamte  these 
H -shaped  temple  courts  reappear  with  the  same  ground  plan,  but  yet 
each  one  has  its  somewhat  modified  form.  I insert  a few  slight  sketches 
of  such  courts  (figs.  Ifl  and  10a). 

It  is  very  remarkable  that  in  Iximche  this  kind  of  temple  building 
is  altogether  wanting,  or  at  least  there  are  hardly  any  traces  of  such 
fundamental  ideas  to  be  discovered  there,  and  yet  the  Cakchiqnel 
have  displayed  in  their  architecture,  which  they  have  developed  with 
great  originality,  no  small  correspondence  with  the  same  art  among 
their  neighbors.  Thus  we  find  in  Iximche  a rectangular,  lengthy 
tumulus  (“A’’  in  Bruhl’s  Plan  of  Iximche,  Globus,  vol.  06),  the  platform 
of  which  is  walled  all  around,  and  this  shows  a courtyard  which, 
relatively  to  the  edges  of  the  tumulus,  is  sunk  deeply.  The  same 
manner  of  building  I found  twice  in  Sajacabaja  and  once  in  Saculeu, 
though  here  not  (piite  according  to  the  type. 

It  may  be  presumed  that  on  all  the  edifices  which  have  so  far  been 
discussed,  unless  they  were  intended  to  serve  exclusively  for  defense, 
wooden  huts  must  have  been  standing  on  tlie  uppermost  platforms, 
which  either  contained  the  images  of  their  idols  or  may  have  served  as 
reception  rooms  or  residences  for  eminent  personages.  Among  the 
lowland  tribes  of  the  Maya  family,  however,  architecture  has  taken 
a step  further  in  advance  by  substituting  for  these  mere  wooden  build- 
ings structures  of  stone  with  durable  and  habitable  inner  rooms.  The 
fact  that  in  Yucatan,  northeast  Chiapas,  and  in  Peten  well-stratified^ 


548  INDIAN  SETTLEMENTS  IN  CENTRAL  AMERICA. 

level  limestone  appears,  has  evidently  caused  and  favored  this  improve- 
ment, as  the  appearance  of  finely  grained  limestone,  resembling  the 
slate  of  Solenhofen  at  Palenque  and  Menche  Tenamit,  must  have  caused 
the  flourishing  industry  of  relievo  painting  in  that  district.  In  the 
Ghorti  territory,  where,  near  Copan,  an  easily  worked  building  material 
appears  in  abundance  (a  decomposed,  eruptive  stone),  architecture  has 
Xirogressed  in  a very  x)eculiar  manner,  but  the  stone  houses,  while  other- 
wise apparently  of  the  same  construction,  appear  less  large  and  impos- 
ing than  in  the  more  northern  districts.  In  the  low  plains  of  Tabasco 
(Comalcalco)  the  Indians  (Ohontal)  have  erected  stone  houses  by  the 
hel]i  of  an  artificially  produced  building  material  (bricks),  beyond 
doubt  in  imitation  of  the  stone  houses  of  their  eastern  and  northeastern 
neighbors. 

Stone  houses,  so  far  as  is  now  known,  have  not  been  built  by  any 
but  the  lowland  Maya  family  in  North  Central  America — that  is,  by  the 
Mayas  and  the  tribes  of  the  Choi  grouxi  (Oholes,  Chontales,  and  Chor- 
tles). These  are  the  same  tribes  whicli  even  now  difier  from  the  other 
Maya  people  by  certain  xieculiarities  in  their  house  architecture 
(advanced  walls).  Such  stone  structures  as  the  Mam  and  the  Quiche 
tribes  xiossess  are  here  entirely  wanting,  as  are  also  the  temple  courts 
resembling  the  letter  H. 

In  the  territory  of  the  Chontales  only  the  ruins  of  Comalcalco,  and 
in  that  of  the  Chortles,  only  those  of  Coxian  are  known  tolerably  well. 
As  I do  not  know  the  former  from  personal  knowledge,  and  during  my 
visit  to  the  latter  (January,  1894)  only  found  a beginning  made  of  a 
more  careful  examination,  I can  add  nothing  new  to  what  has  been 
stated  before.  I limit  myself,  therefore,  in  the  remarks  that  follow  to 
the  observations  Avhich  I made  in  the  Choi  territory  in  Peten  and 
Yucatan. 

The  ground  plan  of  almost  all  stone  houses  is  rectangular,  and 
wherever  wings  or  other  additions  axix>ear  they  also  are  rectangularly 
added  to  the  main  building.  In  Yucatan  I saw  several  rounded-off 
edges  on  tower-like  side  wings  (Ixtinta,  Tzibinocac),  and  I thought  it 
remarkable  that  these  exceptions  from  the  general  rule  should  occur 
there  alone,  where  the  dwelling  houses  of  the  Indians  uniformly  show 
round  e<l -off  ground  x>lans. 

These  stone  houses  are  in  their  simxdest  form  narrow  buildings  with 
but  one  inner  axiartment,  to  which  access  is  had  from  the  side  of  a 
X)assage  (e.  g.  the  stone  liouses  Y,  YI,  and  YII  in  S.  Clemente).  Where 
the  buildings  show  any  x^i’ogress,  the  one  inner  room  axix)oars  sub- 
divided by  niches,  x^^issages,  and  additions,  and  is  apxuoached  by 
several  doors  of  entrance  on  one  side  (fig.  5a,  the  xirincipal  temple  of 
Menche  Tenamit),  or  several  sexiarate  rooms  are  found  in  the  same 
stone  house,  connected  with  each  other,  but  each  having  its  own  means 
of  entrance  from  without — e.  g.  the  stone  houses  I,  II,  and  III  in  S. 
Clemente,  fig.  9.  If  architecture  has  made  still  greater  progress  we 


Smithsonian  Report,  1895. 


Plate  XXXIII. 


I . 

. ' 


i i 


^ ' 

vt, 


:A 


I 


1 


I 

m 


INDIAN  SETTLEMENTS  IN  CENTRAL  AMERICA. 


549 


find  two  or  three  rows  of  rooms,  one  behind  the  other,  which  are  con- 
nected with  each  other  and  have  exits,  on  one  or  the  other  of  their 
longer  sides  (fig.  7).  It  is  not  my  intention  here  to  pursue  the  almost 
boundless  variety  of  plans  of  stone  houses  at  the  various  places  of 
ruins;  I only  mention  here  that  where  architecture  has  progressed  still 
further,  side  wings  are  found — added  to  the  main  building  (barely  indi- 
cated in  fig.  7,  Ticul,  more  clearly  in  the  stone  houses  of  Tzibinocac, 
fig.  4,  and  Ixtinta,  fig.  1),  or  the  building  incloses  a court  partly  (Ticul, 
fig.  6)  or  entirely  (Palenque,  Uxmal).  In  Palenrpie  the  front  wall  is 
sometimes  reduced  to  a number  of  pillars  by  the  frequency,  the  height 
and  width  of  the  door  openings,  so  as  to  change  the  wide,  outer  room 
in  its  great  length  into  a kind  of  well-lighted  portico. 

The  stone  houses  of  Touiiia,^  the  only  ones  known  to  exist  in  the 
territory  of  the  Highland  tribes,  are,  as  far  as  the  ground  plan  is  con- 
cerned, most  nearly  related  to  the  structures  at  Palenque. 

The  outer  w^alls  of  the  stone  houses  rise  either  perpendicularly  or 
they  are  steeply  inclined,  parts  occasionally  extend  even  beyond  the 
foot  of  the  walls.  On  the  whole,  however,  the  horizontal  section  through 
the  building  diminishes  in  proportion  as  it  is  made  at  a greater  height — 
that  is,  the  building  grows  smaller  from  below  upward.  The  outer 
walls  are  partly  shaped  by  a smooth  layer  of  mortar  (so  usual  at  Peteu), 
partly  adorned  witii  stucco  (Meuche  Teuamit,  a few  houses  in  Ticul), 
partly  ornamented  with  separate  tablets,  showing  images  or  hiero- 
glyphics (Palenque),  or  cased  with  a smooth  covering  of  stone  (South 
Yucatan),  which  in  North  Yucatan  is  adorned  with  sculptures.  The 
substance  of  these  buildings  inside  the  casing  consists,  where  no  well- 
stratified  calcareous  schists  are  found,  of  bowlders  and  an  abundance  of 
mortar. 

All  around  the  edifice  continuous  cornices  are  seen,  which  produce 
the  appearance  of  a building  of  several  stories,  as  they  occur  at  almost 
equal  distances,  one  above  the  other.  This  impression  is  aided  by 
the  fact  that  the  external  divisions  of  the  outside  occur  exactly  at  the 
ifiace  where  the  cornices  appear.  Thus  one  meets  with  buildings  of  one 
or  four  stories,  though  ordinarily  they  are  only  of  two  or  three  stories. 
Sometimes,  again,  certain  parts  of  a stone  house  are  higher  than  others, 
and  when  in  this  way  (as  in  the  stone  houses  of  Ixtinta  and  Tzibanocac) 
the  main  body  and  the  wings  seem  to  be  of  different  height,  such 
structures  gain  a certain  variety  of  forms  which  is  pleasantly  felt  in 
contrast  with  the  general  uniformity  of  all  Maya  buildings. 

The  inner  rooms  of  stone  houses  are  small  and  rather  badly  lighted, 
since  no  daylight  enters  except  through  the  door  openings.  Only 
rarely  little  low  windows  are  found,  which  are  pierced  through  the 

Mil  Kalarate  I saw  the  scanty  remains  of  a small  stone  house,  the  thin  walls  of 
which,  however,  caused  the  presumption  that  these  could  not  have  supported  a 
massive  upper  story,  such  as  is  characteristic  of  Maya  huildings.  It  seems,  therefore, 
to  have  been  a different  kind  of  construction. 


550 


INDIAN  SETTLEMENTS  IN  CENTRAL  AMERICA. 


outer  walls,  if  they  do  not  contain  several  inner  rooms  of  the  same 
house  (Ticul,  fig.  6).  The  upper  closiug  of  a room  is  brought  about 
by  the  gradual  approach  of  the  longitudinal  walls,  till  they  are  near 
enough  to  each  other  to  allow  the  space  between  to  be  closed  by  a few 
fiat,  stone  tiles.  This  reduction  of  space  is  produced  by  overreaching 
stones,  each  upper  row  protruding  over  the  one  below.  The  edges  thus 
produced  are  smoothed  over  with  mortar  (e.  g.,  in  Tonina  fig.  8b)  or  they 
are  entirely  concealed.  Where  more  careful  work  was  required,  the 
stones  were  cut  obliquely,  so  that  when  laid  one  upon  the  other  they 
would  show  a straight-lined  reduction  (fig,  7b,  in  Ticul),  and  in  Uxmal 
may  actually  be  seen,  in  a few  cases  at  least,  a few  slightly  curved  lines 
of  reduction,  convex  or  concave.  Between  the  two  walls  which  are 
thus  treated  to  lead  to  a closing  above  there  are  commonly  found  some 
cross  pieces  of  wood,  generally  zapote  wood,  which  were  meant  to 
increase  the  durability  of  the  structure,  and  perhaps  in  dwelling 
rooms,  to  suspend  hammocks.  Above  the  door  openings,  which  are 
simply  covered  flat  at  the  top,  without  any  effort  to  approach  the 
sides,  strong  cross  beams,  mostly  of  zapote  wood,  serve  as  sui)ports; 
in  Palenque  and  Menche  Tenamit  huge  slabs  of  stone.  Where  the  ; 
inner  rooms  are  long  and  narrow,  only  the  long  sides  are  shortened;  i 
on  the  two  short  sides  the  walls  go  up  straight  and  unreduced;  but  if  j 
the  four  sides  do  not  differ  much  (as  in  Tonina),  all  are  shortened  in  the  j 
above-mentioned  way.  In  small  and  narrow  passages  the  closing  is 
brought  about  by  horizontal  slabs  of  stone.  In  Tonina  a peculiar  way 
of  forming  a ceiling  is  noticed  as  shown  in  fig.  8b.  | 

The  inner  rooms  of  a stone  house  are  generally  of  the  same  height.  ■ 
Staircases  in  the  interior  of  houses,  I have  never  seen — excepting  the 
famous  tower  of  Palenque — unless  it  be  in  the  tower-like  raised  side 
wings  of  Ixtinta,  where  they  only  lead  on  the  outside  to  the  upper  plat- 
form.^ 

The  inner  rooms  of  Maya  stone  houses  are,  as  a rule,  lacking  in  orna- 
ments; only  rarely  wall  paintings  are  seen  (as  in  Chichenitza,  Tonina, 
Tzibinocac),  or  stucco  ornamentations  (Tonina),  or  in  separate  niches 
relievo  tablets  and  hieroglyphics  (Palenque),  or  statues  (Menche  Tena- 
mit). Most  structures  of  this  kind  show  their  principal  ornamentation 
on  the  outside.  The  outside  of  stone  houses  in  I7orth  Yucatan  are 
specially  rich  in  sculpture  adornments ; and  here  the  contrast  of  the 
architectural  style  with  that  of  Mitla  in  Oaxaca  (the  Zapotec  district) 
is  most  startling,  for  the  above-mentioned  edifices,  which  also  differ 
fundamentally  from  the  Maya  buildings  in  the  construction  of  their 
roofs  and  in  the  iiitroduction  of  round  pillars  of  stone  have  their  prin- 
cipal adornment  in  the  interior,  while  the  external  walls  are  left  com- 
paratively plain  and  unadorned.  This  great  simplicity  of  the  small 
inner  rooms  in  a building  which  is  on  the  outside  almost  too  richly 
adorned,  as  is  the  case  in  the  Casa  del  (lobeniador  at  Uxmal,  makes  a 


^ Others  have  also  been  observed  in  North  Yucatan  and  Copan. 


COUKT 


Smithsonian  Report,  1895. 


Plate  XXXIV, 


INDIAN  SETTLEMENTS  IN  CENTRAL  AMERICA.  551 

very  peculiar  impression  upon  the  beholder  and  reminds  him  involun- 
tarily of  the  narrowness  of  views  which  seems  to  be  a universal  weak- 
ness of  the  Maya  family,  who  otherwise  possess  so  many  most  attract- 
ive characteristics. 

Besides  the  stone  houses,  several  towns  of  Yucatan  and  Peten  possess 
still  another  remarkable  type  of  edifice — steep  stone  pyramids,  which  on 
their  uppermost  platform  bear  a somewhat  long  stone  house.^  I have 
seen  these  structures  only  in  Uxmal  and  Ticul,  and  the  four  stone  pyr- 
amids at  the  last-mentioned  place  were  so  entirely  overgrown  with 
forest  trees  and  dense  shrubbery  that  I could  not  obtain  a clear  view,^ 
although  I climbed  up  to  the  top  of  one  with  great  trouble.  The  stone 
pyramid  of  Uxmal  rises  in  two  unequal  terraces,  over  which  a compara- 
tively low,  perpendicnlar  terrace  leads  to  the  upper  platform  which 
bears  the  stone  house.  In  the  middle  of  one  of  the  long  sides  (from 
the  east)  a very  steep  staircase  with  nearly  one  hundred  steps  leads  to 
the  i>latform.  This  kind  of  pyramid  seems  to  be  peculiar  to  the  Mayas 
(in  Yucatan  and  Peten)  and  to  Copan,  for  in  the  territory  of  the  Choi  and 
the  Chorti  we  find  only  the  ordinary  terraced  pyramid,  with  perpendic- 
ularly ascending  steps  of  equal  height  and  depth.  The  same  applies 
to  the  highlands  of  Guatemala  and  Chiapas,  where  it  is  true  the  steps 
occasionally  seem  to  lose  their  original  purpose  and  to  assume  gigantic 
dimensions  (1  to  2 meters  in  height  and  depth),  as  in  Saculeu  and 
Ton  in  a.  In  the  two  great  ])yramids  of  Ton  in  a we  notice,  from  the 
bottom  to  the  uppermost  small  platform,  six  to  eight  lofty  steps.  These 
steps,  however,  being  so  very  high,  do  not  ascend  perpendicularly  (as 
at  Saculeu),  but  at  a great  inclined  angle.  That  Cather wood’s  Eecon- 
struction  of  the  Pyramids,  in  Stephens’s  Incidents  of  Travel  (p.  381),  is 
incorrect,  is  best  seen  from  the  northwest,  where  both  show  their  best 
preserved  side.  I am  sure  I.  do  not  wish  to  blame  Catherwood,  but 
only  to  point  out  the  great  difiiculties  which  arise  at  every  such  attempt 
at  reconstruction.  It  is  extremely  difficult  to  form  by  means  of  decay- 
ing ruins  a picture  of  former  proportions,  and  often  a mere  glance  from 
an  accidentally  chosen  but  favoraUle  standpoint  gives  a clearer  sight 
than  a long  study  of  the  ruins  themselves.  To  this  must  be  added 
that  the  generally  poor  state  of  preservation  of  all  such  ruins  has  led 
almost  everyone  to  add  to  this  sketch  or  ground  plan  a number  of 
reconstructions;  my  own  very  trifling  sketches  must  not  be  considered 
final  in  any  way.  I shall  be  well  content  if  I should  have  succeeded 
in  giving  my  reader  a tolerably  correct  idea  of  the  old  Indian  structures 
in  North  Central  America  and  of  their  great  variety.  An  exhaustive 
description  of  old  Central  American  architectures,  which  should  enter 
into  all  details  and  state  their  peculiar  manner  of  forming  settlements, 
must  needs  be  preserved  for  future  generations,  and  I shall  be  satisfied 
if  I may  state  here  the  conclusions  which  the  available  material  has 
enabled  me  to  form. 


1 Recently  also  found  in  Copan. 

2 A reconstruction  will  be  found  in  Maudslay  at  the  proper  place,  page  18. 


552 


INDIAN  SETTLEMENTS  IN  CENTRAL  AMERICA. 


3.  COMPREHENSIVE  REMARKS  AND  CONCLUSIONS. 

The  old  Indian  edifices  of  northern  Central  America  display  in  various 
parts  of  this  territory  an  unusually  great  variety  both  as  regards  the 
disposition  and  the  construction  of  the  single  buildings.  Upon  closer 
investigation  we  find,  however,  that  the  structures  of  special  districts 
show  certain  peculiarities  which  are  common  to  all  of  them,  but  are 
uot  found  in  the  structures  of  adjoining  districts.  These  common  pecul- 
iarities, however,  apply  only  to  general  features,  whilst  we  never  meet 
with  slavish  imitation  of  a definite  style  of  architecture.  On  the  con- 
trary, even  within  the  boundary  lines  of  a certain  style  there  exists 
still  an  almost  indefinite  variety  of  disposition  and  outward  formation 
among  the  Central  American  Indians.  As  the  edifices  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  a style  of  building  often  already  show  hints  suggested  by  the 
peculiarities  of  a neighboring  style,  we  may  conclude  from  this  that 
the  Indians  maintained  among  themselves  a lively  intercourse  and  pos- 
sessed a great  capacity  for  acquiring  knowledge  and  taste  from  their 
neighbors.  Everywhere  we  find  the  fundamental  idea  of  walls  and 
terraced  pyramids,  but  iu  their  erection  many  varieties  of  style  at  once 
apx)ear.  Unfortunately,  I must  here  limit  myself  to  the  structures  on 
the  highlands  of  Guatemala  and  Chiapas,  and  to  those  of  East  Guate- 
mala, Peten,  Tabasco,  and  Yucatan.  Within  this  district  I think  I may 
define  the  following  styles  of  architecture: 

I.  The  steps  of  the  j)yramids  and  walls  are  ascending.  The  build- 
ings are  not  distinctly  grouped  around  courtyards  (squares). 

1.  Chiapas  style:  The  buildings  of  a settlement  are  rather  irregularly 
arranged. 

2.  JVIotozintla  style:  The  buildings  of  a settlement  show  a tendency 
to  face  a certain  direction.  In  front  of  many  tumuli  tile  pavements  are 
made. 

II.  The  steps  of  the  pyramids  and  walks  are  perpendicularly  ascend- 
ing. The  buildings  of  a settlement  face  any  one  decided  direction. 
The  larger  settlements  show  a part  of  their  buildings  arranged  entirely 
or  in  i)art  around  an  inclosed  courtyard  or  square. 

ARCPItTECTURAL  STYLES  OF  THE  MAYA  PEOPLE. 

A.  Varapaz  style. — Tlie  settlements  are  mostly  small.  The  buildings 
face  the  four  cardinal  points.  Mortar  was  but  imperfectly  used.  In 
Chacujal  stone  buildings  with  perpendicular  walls,  parapets  on  the 
I^latform. 

E.  Areliiteetural  styles  of  the  hiyhland  tribes. — The  settlements  show 
a crowded  disposition  of  their  buildings.  In  the  whole  district  temple 
courts  shaped  like  H make  their  appearance. 

{a)  Yo  mortar  is  used  in  the  buildings. 

1.  Tzenal  style:  The  buildings  of  a settlement  are  not  arranged  so 
as  to  face  the  cardinal  points,  but  preferably  intermediate  directions. 


INDIAN  SETTLEMENTS  IN  CENTEAL  AMERICA.  553 

(h)  In  many  buildings  mortar  is  used  in  erecting  stone  bouses. 

2.  Maine  style:  The  buildings  of  a settlement  are  generally  made  to 
face  intermediate  directions. 

3.  Quiche  style:  The  buildings  of  a settlement  face  the  cardinal 
points. 

C.  Architectural  styles  of  the  loivkmd  tribes. — In  many  buildings  stone 
walls,  cemented  with  mortar,  are  found.  Stone  houses  with  habitable 
inner  rooms.  The  buildings  mostly  bice  the  cardinal  points. 

1.  Maya  style:  At  times  steep  pyramids.  The  door  beams  made  of 
zapote  wood. 

la.  Petentype:  The  buildings  of  a settlement  are  closely  crowded. 
Formation  of  many  courts  (squares).  Character  of  fortification.  The 
walls  show  a casing  of  mortar.  Mostly  unadorned  houses. 

lb.  Type  of  South  Yucatan : Transition  type.  The  arrangement  of 
buildings  is  less  crowded.  The  walls  of  the  stone  houses  are  often 
incased  in  stone,  carefully  cut,  but  simple. 

lc.  Type  of  North  Yucatan:  The  arrangement  of  the  buildings  is 
rather  a scattered  one.  Tiie  outer  walls  of  the  stone  houses  are  often 
richly  adorned  with  sculptures. 

2.  Ohol  style:  The  door  openings  are  generally  closed  above  with 
level  slabs  of  stone.  The  ornamentation  of  stone  houses  consists  in 
stucco  ornaments  or  in  tablets  containing  images  or  hieroglyphics. 

3.  Ghorti  style:  Very  peculiar  development  of  the  pyramidical  struc- 
ture and  of  courts  (squares).  In  Copan  a steep  pyramid. 

The  stone  houses  of  Tonina  belong  to  the  Choi  style,  while  the  other 
edifices  and  the  general  arrangement  follow  the  Tzenal  style.  The 
ruins  are  now  situated  in  the  land  of  the  Tzenal  people,  but  not  very 
far  from  the  line,  since  the  nearest  Lacandon  and  Choi  settlements  are 
hardly  30  or  40  kilometers  distant,  and  it  can  not  be  absolutely  asserted 
that  Tonina  may  not  originally  have  been  a Tonina  or  a Choi  settlement. 
However  this  may  be,  Tonina  has  always  shown  a mixed  style,  at  all 
events  borrowing  from  a neighboring  style,  so  that  I do  not  feel  justi 
fied,  by  the  occurrence  of  a single  instance,  to  attribute  the  existence 
of  stone  houses  to  the  Tzenal  style. 

The  Indian  edifices  of  northern  Central  America  very  frequently 
show  a striking  Avant  of  symmetry.  The  very  simplest  buildings,  to  be 
sure,  are  almost  always  symmetrical,  because  in  their  very  great  sim- 
plicity there  AAms  no  scope  for  unsymmetrical  arrangement.  But  the 
more  Amried  single  buildings  and  central  structures,  like  great  temples, 
show  almost  always  an  unequal  deA^elopment  on  the  two  sides  from  a 
middle  line,  and  although  the  gradual  development  of  architectural  art 
led  stex)  by  stex>  to  a better  observance  of  symmetry,  it  is  nevertheless 
curious  to  obserA^e  hoAv,  after  all,  only  the  A^ery  best  edifices  of  Yucatan 
and  Palenque  ever  attained  unto  full  symmetry.  It  is  true  that  fre- 
quently only  mere  trifles  display  a want  of  this  kind,  but  on  examining 
a building  of  this  kind,  or  even  a ground  x)lan,  we  always  feel  as  if  this 


554 


INDIAN  SETTLEMENTS  IN  CENTRAL  AMERICA. 


uusyinmetrical  arrangement  were  not  so  ranch  the  result  of  negligence 
as  of  a set  xmri)ose.  And  how  capriciously  even  the  inner  rooms  of  the 
stone  houses  may  be  differently  adorned  on  both  sides  of  the  entrance 
can  be  seen  in  the  plan  of  a room  in  Tical  (fig.  15).  Even  the  richly 
ornamented  inner  room  of  the  principal  temple  of  Menche  displays  in 
the  different  positions  of  the  entrances  relatively  to  the  most  external 
side  apartments  constant  neglect  of  symmetry. 

(12)  In  this  connection  it  may  be  noticed  that  the  Indians  of  the  Maya 
family  sliowed  the  same  tendency  to  an  unsymmetrical  cultivation  of 
develox)inent  of  the  individual  members  in  their  musical  melodies 
also.^ 

(13)  These  side  apartments  seem  to  have  been  used  by  the  Lacondons 
mainly  for  their  sacrifices,  since  it  was  in  these  rooms  that  I found,  in 
1891,  most  of  their  sacrificial  vessels  made  of  clay. 

All  the  tribes  which  belong  to  tlie  Maya  family^  have  certain  x)ecu- 
liarities  in  their  manner  of  building,  and  it  is  of  the  utmost  imx^or- 
tauce  that  within  the  territory  they  at  x^resent  occux^y,  and  according 
to  the  limits  of  the  knowledge  which  we  at  x^resent  possess,  no  buildings 
are  known  to  us  which  betray  a foreign  style,  excex^t  only  the  few  at 
Motozintla,  of  which  I have  sx)oken  above.  This  would  justify  the  same 
conclusion  which  I also  reached  in  studying  the  local  names — that  the 
Maya  tribes  have  for  a long  time  already  occupied  their  present  homes 
in  northern  Central  America. 

A comparison  of  tbe  architectural  features  which  all  the  Maya  tribes 
have  in  common  suggests  also  a certain  conclusion  as  to  the  degree  to 
which  their  architectural  skill  had  raised  among  them  before  the  tribe 
sexnirated.  This  is  a very  low  degree — walls  and  terraced  x^yramids  of 
moderate  size,  facing  a fixed  direction,  and  frequently  grouped  around 
a court  or  square. 

It  ai)X)ears,  however,  as  if  the  lowland  tribes  had  already  parted  with 
the  X)rimitive  Maya  x)eox)le  at  a time  when  theTerax^az  tribes  (the  Poco- 
man  groux))  were  still  in  close  contact  with  the  highland  tribes,  since 
their  straw  huts  (dwelling  houses)  are  in  their  construction  x^erfectly 
identical,  while  the  lowland  tribes  differ  in  having  an  advanced  wall. 
At  the  same  time  the  Ohol  and  Ohorti  Indians,  dwelling  near  by,  still 
adhere  to  the  rectangular  ground  of  the  highland  huts,  while 

Cliontals  and  Mayas  abandon  this  tyx>e  in  favor  of  rounded-off*  ground 
Xdans. 

While  the  Verax^az  tribes  thus  remained  on  a lower  grade  of  archi- 
tecture, the  tribes  of  the  highlands  and  the  lowlands  both  develox^ed 
the  art  in  their  own  x^oculiar  manner.  Among  the  highland  tribes, 
the  Quiche  and  Mam  groux>  made  great  xuogress  in  architecture, 

X'ompare  the  New  Journal  for  Music,  year  XI  (1895),  X^os.  7 and  8,  and  year  XIII 
(1892),  Nos.  22  and  23. 

21  have,  unfortunately,  here  to  omit  the  lluastecs,  since  I have  no  information  as 
to  their  huildingfe. 


INDIAN  SETTLEMENTS  IN  CENTRAL  AMERICA. 


555 


wliicli  the  Tzeiial  group,  however,  did  not  share,  while  the  lowland 
tribes,  each  in  its  most  original  manner,  attained  high  success  in  the 
same  art,  no  doubt  largely  assisted  by  the  favorable  stone  material 
which  they  found  at  hand.  In  like  manner  the  peculiar  ([ualities  of  the 
outcropping  stone  no  doubt  led  in  the  Choi  territory  to  making  relievo 
works,  in  the  Chorti  territory  to  monolithic  sculpture,  and  in  northern 
Yucatan  to  a sculptural  adornment  of  their  houses. 

A very  long  time  must,  of  course,  have  elapsed  between  the  time 
when  simple  buildings  w ere  raised  by  the  prhnitive  Majui  family  and 
the  days  when  the  beautifully  developed  architecture  of  temples  in 
Sajacabaja  of  original  Oopan  pyramids,  of  excessively  adorned  stone 
houses  in  Yucatan,  of  defiant  Ticul  structures,  and  of  harmoniously 
composed  and  ornamented  edifices  in  Palenque  began  to  show  itself. 
Hence,  we  assume  with  certainty  that  each  one  of  the  Maya  tribes  here 
mentioned  may  have  occui^ied  their  present  homes  for  a moi  e or  less 
extended  period  of  time,  and  that  their  architecture  was  developed 
only  within  this  time.  The  influence  of  the  surrounding  stone  material 
on  this  architecture  may  here  and  there  become  ])crceptible,  and  the 
locally  limited  origin,  as  well  as  the  locally  varying  development  of 
this  architecture,  wdll  clearly  show  that  any  influence  of  Asiatic  styles 
of  architecture  is  absolutely  excluded.  It  is  true  that  so  far  the  study 
of  the  architectural  ruins  has  given  no  clew  to  the  original  home  and  to 
possible  former  migrations  of  the  Maya  family.  I can,  therefore,  here 
oidy  express  the  wish  and  the  hope  that  future  and  more  extensive 
studies,  made  on  a broader  basis,  may  succeed  in  establishing  the  views 
here  suggested  more  firmly  in  determining  the  exchange  of  culture  by 
comparing  the  architecture  of  neighboring  races,  and  in  thus  providing 
a safe  basis  for  prehistoric  research. 


. 


) ■- 


6^  ^ 


